Desk job
Published: MEA
Situated on the mezzanine floor of Dubai’s Park Regis Kris Kin hotel, Club 7 feels a world away from your typical hotel bar. Approaching the club, visitors are greeted by a wall peppered with the awards that the venue has won. The back-lit, branded walls that form this reception area give the first indication of what can be expected within the venue, but stepping inside provides a true assault on the senses.
The surprisingly large floor space is filled with multiple seating areas, tables for the restaurant, a large bar and an illuminated dancefloor. The lighting creates the feel of a party venue with moving heads, illuminated pillars, and walls filled with a variety of shapes and colours. Importantly, there is also a wide stage prepared for multiple musicians and a DJ booth-cum-FOH position tucked off to the side which is home to the club’s new Yamaha CL5 console.
‘Each night over the weekend there is a full six-piece band performance. It’s a big club and it gets packed,’ explains Varun Ashokan, technical support engineer at Dubai-based distributor Thomsun Trading. ‘The reason for the CL5 is because of the live band rather than the club system itself. The owner of the club is very passionate about audio quality. Inside this room he wanted the sound how you would get it at a festival. He wanted people to feel it. That is why he wanted a product that could do a big show and he wanted a proper system.’
As a result, Club 7 has been the site of an extensive audio refit. The multi-zoned venue now features a Nexo system as its main PA while the stage is dotted with RCF monitors as well as a new Shure wireless mic package. However, it is the new console that has grabbed the attention.
The addition of the Yamaha CL5 has seen Club 7 move to a digital environment. One 32-channel and a 16-channel analogue mixer have been replaced by the 72-channel digital desk at FOH, and the venue is clearly seeing the benefits.
‘When we came here there were a lot of cables, some of them were not bad, but the analogue desks were not capable of using all the signals, so we needed to remove them and patch in the new channels,’ recalls Mr Ashokan. ‘Now everything is clean, only two stage boxes are in use and one cable comes to the console.’
One of the first advantages the club has found from moving to digital comes with control. ‘It is divided into different zones and they can have separate control for that,’ says Mr Ashokan. ‘They use an iPad to control the CL5, so you can be anywhere around the hall and mix for that area.’
However, the most obvious advantage of the new desk has been found with the stage monitoring. ‘Before, the different monitors were looped so they produced the same signal,’ says the technical support engineer. ‘Right now all the monitors are separate, discrete inputs and each has a separate mix and EQ, it makes it easier for the band to do their jobs. When we saw their faces we knew they were happy with what they could hear.’
This area also highlighted another aspect of the venues system that was in need of a refresh. ‘Behind the keyboard section, there were two or three monitors. The keyboard player was saying he couldn’t hear the audio, it turned out the level was dropping out because of the cable,’ says Dhanarajan P, pro audio sales at Thomsun. ‘We saw the situation and changed the cable and he is now happy with it. We were able to remove some of the monitors to improve the audience experience. We balanced the system properly and it made for a cleaner sound on stage and a better sound for the audience.’
‘We changed all the cables to Reference Laboratory cables because the club like the tone of them,’ added Mr Ashokan. ‘That shows a real dedication to sound.’
Having configured and calibrated the new system, the overall result is one that Mr Ashokan is clearly very proud of. ‘Now, with the CL5, there are separate channels for everything so there is more control. Each and every source has a graphical EQ for individual control,’ he smiles. ‘It was a big job and not at all easy but there is now a more natural sound.’
This view is shared by those in charge of the venue. ‘The Yamaha desk has made a lot of difference to the sound. It has improved the quality of the music and improved a lot of things,’ says Sethumadhavan Nair, club manager of Club Seven. ‘The sound is now very clean.’
When Pro Audio Middle East first heard about a nightclub having a Yamaha CL5 console, the first question that came to mind was why? This is nothing against Yamaha’s desk, but more a question of what needs a venue of this type would have to have in order to require this kind of technology? Having now visited Club 7 and seen the setup, the need for this level of equipment and most importantly the advantages it has brought the venue are now clear.